The other Renault 4

I haven’t had much time to work on either Renault recently but yesterday we started dismantling the blue one and while doing so the postman arrived with an envelope containing the keys and registration documents, both of which we had imagined had been lost. So we have a few more options. We can also now manoeuvre it around the garden more easily as the steering lock had been on until now.

The white car’s body is under the green tarpaulin and the chassis under the blue one. I wonder whether I can get a red and a yellow one for the blue car. Will look nice and colourful.

Both cars are GTLs though the blue one has chrome strips on the side, chrome bumpers and black vinyl seats whereas the white one has cloth seats and no chrome.

The white car was first registered on 6 September 1985 making it older than the blue one, which is a surprise since I had thought older cars generally had chrome and newer ones didn’t. I bought the white car from a woman in Derby but it was first registered to a man (a teacher) in Over (near Cambridge) who bought it from West’s Garage in Cambridge. Wests are still a franchised Renault dealership in Cambridge though they seem to have moved premises. Since then it has recorded 55600 miles though it has not been on the road for the last ten years.

The blue car, which I picked up from Winchelsea near Hastings in Sussex. was originally sold to a lady in Shrewsbury by Reades Of Telford on 2 June 1986. I looked up the dealership but it has long gone, making way for a plumbing shop now. Should you want to know more about Pat Reade and his garage, see Wellington Through Time). This car has done 61,500 miles and has been off the road for five years.

So the plan is still to remove the body from the blue car and compare the two chassis to see which is easier to repair. Then build up one good car from the best parts from each. I wish I had tried to start the blue one now but the lack of keys and some burnt out wiring under the bonnet put me off trying. Now it’s too late since I’ve removed most of the things that connect the engine to anything else. Still I know the white car runs.